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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22852030">In Case You Don't Live Forever</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/StolenSerenity/pseuds/StolenSerenity'>StolenSerenity</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers Family, Avengers Movie Night, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Has Issues, Everyone Needs A Hug, Everyone Needs Therapy, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Generation Z Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, PTSD RECOVERY, Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker has PTSD, Post-Recovery Bucky Barnes, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recovery, Service Dogs, Team Bonding, Team as Family, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Lives, he has anxiety, let! them! be! happy!, listen I just want my beans to live happily ever after, look at him, with healthy coping mechanisms, you ruined a perfectly good peter parker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 18:08:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,533</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22852030</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/StolenSerenity/pseuds/StolenSerenity</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of Spiderman: Homecoming, Peter's identity is revealed, he keeps having anxiety attacks, and he jumps at every shadow. He's not sure how to cope, especially now that he can't even trust his own eyes. Moved to the Avengers Compound in a bid to protect him and his aunt from would-be supervillains tracking down his home address, will Peter ever be able to heal? And for that matter, can the team help?</p>
<p>Or, the one where Peter makes pancakes when he's stressed, which is always, Tony hosts team dinner every Sunday, Natasha goes vegan to mess with him, and Rhodey just wants to win a game of Mario Kart.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, May Parker (Spider-Man) &amp; Peter Parker, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker &amp; Pepper Potts, Peter Parker &amp; Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>56</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>In Case You Don't Live Forever</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>His phone is ringing, the one that never rings unless it was a true emergency. Peter <em>never</em> uses that phone number. And here it was, ringing. He picks up to static. He stayed on the line for a few moments before he hears it, a low sob, almost inaudible except for the pure desperation it holds.</p>
<p>“Peter?” Tony asks, using his other phone to text Happy and tell him to be ready with a jet in ten minutes or less, <em>or else</em>.</p>
<p>“Mr Stark?” The voice that answers back was small and helpless, nothing like the Peter Tony knows. “I… something’s happened.”</p>
<p>“What happened, Peter?” Tony asks, worry making his voice seem harsher than intended.</p>
<p>“I…” he breaks off then with a sob much louder than before.</p>
<p>“Okay, you don’t need to answer that.” He sends another text:<em> have a full medical team ready on the jet.</em> “Just tell me where you are.”</p>
<p>“I- somewhere in New York, I don’t even- on the top of a tower, some random one, I don’t know, I’m sorry, I just couldn’t be on the streets, I was just, he just, he just <em>lied</em>, and now everyone- and I don’t know- I’m so sorry Mr Stark I’m sorry-” he sounds like he’s hyperventilating and Tony’s genuinely worried about his breathing.</p>
<p>“Peter, slow down. I’m coming to get you, okay? Stay where you are, stay safe.” Another text: <em>cancel the jet have the staff come to the compound, I’m faster and he’s close.</em> FRIDAY is less intuitive than JARVIS ever was, and he has to ask her to track Peter’s phone and wait an extra five seconds for her to find him, when every single moment counts because something’s happened – <em>what happened</em> he doesn’t know but clearly, it’s important. He makes a mental note to start work on JARVIS 2.0 as he flies, pushing his propulsion systems as fast as he can make them go, probably slightly overheating the system, but it’s fine, because Tony makes the twenty-five minute journey in fifteen minutes, finding Peter on one of the smaller skyscrapers, a tiny dot of red and black curled up on the ground. Tony immediately went to him, scanning for blood and injuries and <em>what is happening</em>, announcing his presence with loud footsteps and wincing internally when Peter scrambled to the edge of the roof.</p>
<p>“Mr Stark?” Peter asks, taking the mask off. His eyes are red and bloodshot, his hair a mess. Tony can’t see any injuries but isn’t taking any chances. He set FRIDAY to scanning Peter while he spoke.</p>
<p>“Peter, what’s happening? Are you hurt? What’s going on?”</p>
<p>Peter just shakes his head and draws his legs to his chest. “I’m sorry- Have you seen the news?”</p>
<p>“FRIDAY?” It takes a moment, and then he sees the video. “Oh, Peter, I’m so sorry. I can sue him for defamation, maybe? Or, can we make a statement saying he was lying? Wait, FRIDAY, get me the stocks on the Bugle. Let’s just buy them. They can’t go around staying stuff like that.” Then he hits the end of the video. “FRIDAY – kill Mysterio if he isn’t already dead. Oh, and this J. James… JJJ guy, him too. And make buying the Bugle top priority, and then fire everyone. And-”</p>
<p>“Mr Stark, <em>stop, please</em>!”</p>
<p>And the world freezes. Tony remembers the important thing in this battle, tells FRIDAY to cancel all the orders he just gave, and sits down beside Peter. He offers a one-armed hug and is relieved when Peter sinks into it, muttering another apology. “Oh kid, you don’t need to apologize- <em>I’m</em> sorry this happened like this. I can’t imagine it’s been easy for you.” And with that, the sobs really start coming. Tony’s suit has a very obvious damp patch by the time Peter’s begun to quiet down, and his shoulder’s going a bit numb, but he can’t bring himself to care. All he does is ask Happy to quietly bring May Parker to the Avengers Compound. If Peter’s identity has been revealed, she’s potentially in danger.</p>
<p>Tony flies Peter to the compound himself, cradled in his arms – and he really hopes there wasn’t any paparazzi around, that could make for an awkward explanation – and all the Avengers who are there – not many, Natasha, Steve, Bucky, and Rhodey – have made themselves scarce, except for a plate of food no doubt made by Steve, who believe a home-cooked meal and cure almost anything, and a freshly made bed in Peter’s room, which Tony would think was FRIDAY’s work except for the extraordinarily faint scent of Natasha’s perfume.</p>
<p>“Your aunt’s on her way,” Tony tells Peter as he guides him into his room, unsure what to do but let the kid sleep. “Don’t worry about anything, we got you covered.” Peter just nods numbly and falls into the bed. Tony dims the lights and quietly leaves.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>The second Tony’s sure the kid’s asleep he’s off to one of the many training courses he’s had built. He asks FRIDAY to outfit a punching bag to look like Mysterio and starts whaling on it, just punching and punching until his knuckles bleed and then he starts kicking it instead.</p>
<p>“Tony.” The voice startles him and he throws a punch in the direction, overbalancing and falling instead. A hand helps him stand and he’s face to face to Bucky, of all people. “You need to lay off.”</p>
<p>Tony doesn’t know how to respond, so he just rips his hand away and turns back to the (by now, rather beat up) bag.</p>
<p>“FRIDAY, end the hologram.” The bag flickers and returns to its normal punching bag appearance, and Tony realizes almost immediately how incredibly exhausted he is and falls to the ground in a heap.</p>
<p>“I did this,” he whispers to the ground.</p>
<p>Bucky sits down across from him, a good distance apart because he’s still struggling with people getting into his personal space, and Tony’s a pretty bad offender when it comes to that. “You’ve done a lot of shit. And it was probably a bad idea to call someone’s tech BARF-" Tony snorts and feels another pang of self-hatred because he knows <em>exactly</em> why he called it that- “but I doubt you did it specifically to hurt that guy. Or to turn him into a supervillain. Or to make him hurt Peter.”</p>
<p>“But he still did, because of what <em>I</em> did,” Tony says, punching the floor and immediately regretting that decision, ripples of pain ricocheting up his arm. He needs to invest in gloves or something. Or maybe a softer floor. Do they make floors out of punching bag material? What is that even – rubber? Rubber floors? He should make an entire room out of it, a padded room for him, because clearly, he’s crazy, hurting everyone around him-</p>
<p>“Lots of people got hurt because of what I did. Steve has more nightmares about things<em> I </em>did than nightmares about Red Skull. Doesn’t mean I <em>meant</em> to hurt Steve. I mean, except when I did mean to hurt Steve. But even then, I didn’t want to hurt <em>Steve</em>, that was the brainwashing.” He trails off, wincing. “This is a bad example, but I think you get my point.” Bucky trails off, looking awkward.</p>
<p>Tony chuckles softly. “I think I get it. Doesn’t make it better. Doesn’t make it not happen.”</p>
<p>“I know. But it happened, and now you gotta deal with it.” And with that, Bucky has gracefully lifted himself off the floor and out the door. Tony would be convinced he didn’t really care, if not for the ice pack that’s sitting where Bucky once was.</p>
<p>He stands, flexing his hand and wincing. “FRIDAY? Do some research. Adolescent PTSD. And how to help teenagers in general. Actually- get May Parker on the line – wait no, don’t, she’s already coming and anything else will make her even more worried. Get Pepper. She dealt with me after all that- after everything. She’ll know what to do.”</p>
<p>He feels marginally better with a plan. FRIDAY is apparently marginally more intuitive than he thought, if only because the very first thing displayed for him is a google search for ‘how not to blame yourself for another’s trauma.’ He waves a middle-fingered salute to the nearest camera but clicks on the link, a study from Stanford on victim-blaming-</p>
<p>And immediately clicks away, because they’re only using female pronouns and <em>excuse you Stanford, men can be in abusive and hurtful circumstances too-</em> and, crap, holy shit is Peter blaming himself for this? He was apologizing and there was no need and-</p>
<p>He needs Rhodey. “FRIDAY, get Rhodey here too. And pull up every news report from the whole Mysterio thing, give me every last detail. We need to know what we’re working with.”</p>
<p>He knows he needs to focus on Peter, but this is helping him, it’s a distraction, it’s something to <em>fix</em>. He sends Happy another text, asking for details about the bits he was there for. And then, staring at a news report from 24 minutes ago, one that reads: <em>Spiderman: Hero or Killer?</em> he lets his head fall to the desk as he hides tears of his own.</p>
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